TRWSB – Chapter 210 Encounter in the Wilderness

「Ah Heng, how long have you been here？」 Left Yunfei tried to maintain a calm expression, but the light shining in his eyes betrayed his good mood.

“I arrived this morning. I took a stroll through the settlement outside the Tianxing Mountains. You two have done a great job here,” Qi Heng said with a smile.

Left Yunfei placed his hands behind his back. Although he felt proud, he remained modest. “It’s okay, I guess. I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but suddenly a lot of beast merchants started gathering outside the mountains, and the place just flourished. I can’t really take much credit.”

“Those beast merchants have a high opinion of you,” Qi Heng remarked.

“Really? I’ve been praised since I was little. I don’t even feel anything when people praise me anymore,” Left Yunfei said casually.

Zhuang Hao glanced at Left Yunfei’s cheerful expression, feeling a little disheartened.

“But…” Qi Heng’s tone suddenly shifted.

Left Yunfei looked at him, puzzled. “But what…?”

“Those beast merchants also said it seems like you two haven’t been putting in much effort lately. You’ve tamed very few beasts. They’re wondering if you’ve been… distracted—maybe sneaking off to have some wild trysts,” Qi Heng said nonchalantly.

Left Yunfei’s expression turned black in an instant. “What the hell?!”

Frustrated, he shouted, “Who’s spreading these ridiculous rumors? I’m going to chase them all out!”

“They were just joking around. Why are you so worked up?” Qi Heng replied with calm indifference.

Left Yunfei: “…”

After returning to the settlement, Qi Heng followed Left Yunfei into his private courtyard, leaving Zhuang Hao behind.

Qi Heng re-bandaged Left Yunfei’s wounds. “Your injury is quite deep. You’d better not go out for the next few days.”

Left Yunfei looked at him with focus and smiled, “It’s just a minor wound. Nothing serious.”

Qi Heng frowned. “This wound was caused by a Sacred-grade beast. There seems to be a special substance on it that might slow down the healing process. You’d better be more careful.”

Left Yunfei nodded obediently. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

He tilted his head and asked, “Did you come because you were worried about me?”

Qi Heng paused what he was doing and glanced at him. “I heard the young master and Yi Fan speculating that a Sacred-grade beast might be around here. I came to check it out.”

“It’s just a dumb bear. Not worth seeing,” Left Yunfei said.

“Is that so?” Qi Heng murmured.

Left Yunfei narrowed his eyes. “I think that dumb bear is starting to weaken. If we hang in there a bit longer, we should be able to take it down.”

Qi Heng shook his head. “There’s no need to be so desperate to collect that two billion. The young master was only teasing you.”

Left Yunfei clenched his fists. “Regardless, I won’t let Qi Shaorong look down on me.”

Qi Heng: “…”

Left Yunfei looked at him and asked, “Ah Heng, did you sneak out without telling Qi Shaorong?”

Qi Heng froze and didn’t answer.

Seeing his reaction, Left Yunfei smiled knowingly. “So you really did sneak out.”

Qi Heng frowned. Left Yunfei quickly leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m really happy you came.”

The next morning, Left Yunfei and Qi Heng emerged from the courtyard. Zhuang Hao stood there looking refreshed.

“Young Master Zhuang,” Left Yunfei greeted, a bit puzzled by Zhuang Hao’s unusually cheerful demeanor.

Zhuang Hao smiled brightly. “Left Shao, you’ll never guess who’s here.”

Left Yunfei folded his arms and asked curiously, “Who?”

Qi Shaorong stepped out from the shadows. Left Yunfei’s eyes flashed with surprise when he saw him.

“Young master, you came too?” Qi Heng asked in astonishment.

“I was worried you might get lost, so I came to check on you,” Qi Shaorong said casually.

Qi Heng gave a dry laugh. “You’re such a joker, young master.”

“Shaorong said he wants to come with us to see the Earth Bear,” Zhuang Hao explained.

Left Yunfei glanced at Qi Shaorong, then back at Zhuang Hao. “You’re taking him?”

Zhuang Hao nodded. “Yeah.”

Left Yunfei frowned in protest. “You really need to think this through. If that Earth Bear tramples him to death, you won’t even have time to cry.”

Zhuang Hao: “…”

Qi Shaorong glared at Left Yunfei. “Left Yunfei, what’s your problem? Want to fight me?” Though his personal strength might be a bit lower, his magical weapon was a divine artifact!

“With Shaorong’s ability, he should be fine defending himself. Don’t worry,” Zhuang Hao said.

Left Yunfei looked skeptical. He raised an eyebrow. “You sure? He looks pretty weak to me.”

Qi Heng gave Left Yunfei a pinch. “Yunfei, stop saying that.”

Left Yunfei shrugged, a bit sulky. “Fine, I won’t say it.”

Qi Heng: “…”

Qi Shaorong looked at Left Yunfei and thought: This guy is getting too bold. I’ve been way too lenient with him.

The Next Day

Qi Shaorong joined Left Yunfei and Zhuang Hao as they entered the forest.

“Panda!” Qi Shaorong cried out in surprise.

Fuzzy ears, those ever-present black eye circles, and a chubby belly…

Qi Shaorong’s eyes widened in shock. The so-called Earth Bear… was actually a panda! He never imagined he’d encounter a national treasure in this world. A warm, nostalgic emotion surged in his heart—like meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

“Careful, that’s the Earth Bear,” Zhuang Hao warned.

Qi Shaorong cast a sidelong glance at Zhuang Hao—Even someone like him feared the “National Treasure”? That only confirmed how formidable it was.

With a flick of his wrist, Left Yunfei summoned a torrent of lightning, crashing down on the Earth Bear’s head.

Before the strike landed, Qi Shaorong reached out and grabbed Yunfei’s arm. Yunfei turned toward him, puzzled. “What are you doing?”

“You’re being way too rough. That guy’s way too cute for this! Can’t you be more gentle?” Qi Shaorong said.

Yunfei scowled. “Your eyes must be broken. That round lump is hideous. Cute? Where? What kind of taste is that?”

Qi Shaorong: “…” This Left Yunfei seriously has no sense. Calling a National Treasure ugly? He should drown in spit.

“Shaorong, don’t underestimate that chubby beast. It’s no pushover,” Zhuang Hao warned, launching a barrage of seven-elemental magic toward the giant bear.

Qi Shaorong: “…” Even Zhuang Hao just called the National Treasure “a fat lump.”

Qi Heng had waited all morning back at the settlement. By noon, he saw Qi Shaorong and the others returning, dusty and tired.

“Young Master, are you alright?” Qi Heng asked.

“He’s fine. Just got scared stiff by the Earth Bear. He was so terrified we had to retreat early,” Left Yunfei said.

“Left Yunfei, stop spouting nonsense!” Qi Shaorong glared at him. This guy’s mouth is toxic. Who got scared stiff?!

Qi Heng frowned. “What actually happened?”

“That sacred-level magical beast was too adorable. These two have no sense of beauty,” Qi Shaorong replied.

Qi Heng: “…”

“Qi Shao, if Zhuang Hao and I were as full of love as you, we’d have ended up as bear food by now,” Left Yunfei retorted.

Qi Shaorong shot him a look. “Aren’t you still alive? Stop yapping.”

“So what now? Just because it’s cute, we can’t fight it anymore?” Yunfei asked.

Qi Shaorong rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Not necessarily. We could try to outsmart it.”

“How?” Yunfei asked eagerly.

“I still need to think about that,” Shaorong said, deep in thought.

Zhuang Hao added optimistically, “Take your time. There’s always a way…”

Left Yunfei: “…”

Zhuang Hao eyed the courtyard filled with wine jars, frowning. “You think this will work? Offering wine to the Earth Bear?”

“I’m not sure,” Qi Shaorong admitted. “But if it gets drunk, maybe you can sneak in a contract.”

Zhuang Hao: “…”

“Anyway, you and Yunfei have been at it for over a month with no success. Trying something new can’t hurt, right?” Qi Shaorong added.

Zhuang Hao gave a dry chuckle. “I guess…”

Leaning against the doorframe, Left Yunfei said to Qi Heng, “Can you believe your young master wants to get that bear drunk? Isn’t that just helping the enemy?”

“I’m sure the Young Master has his reasons,” Qi Heng said confidently.

Yunfei looked at him, exasperated. “To you, whatever he does is right.”

Qi Heng nodded. “That’s correct.”

Yunfei: “…”

Qi Heng smiled gently. “Young Master is extremely resourceful. You’ll understand with time.”

Yunfei: “…”

Qi Shaorong wasted no time—he arranged an airdrop of over a thousand tons of wine straight into the Earth Bear’s territory.

“Awoo… awoo…”

Left Yunfei originally thought the bear wouldn’t even touch the wine—Qi Shaorong’s efforts would be wasted. But shockingly, the Earth Bear drank all of it.

Then it went on a drunken rampage, howling through the night without pause.

The remaining magical beasts in the forest scattered in terror, while Yunfei and Zhuang Hao scrambled to contain the chaos.

“Look at the dumb idea your beloved came up with,” Yunfei grumbled.

Zhuang Hao cast him a glance. “It might not be that dumb. Shaorong said if we can get the bear used to the wine, he’ll start mixing in sedatives.”

Yunfei rolled his eyes. “You should be grateful we cleared out most of the forest first. If we hadn’t, we’d be facing a full-scale beast stampede by now.”

Zhuang Hao chuckled. “But nothing happened, right? Don’t worry so much…”

Yunfei: “…”

In the forest, streaks of black and white magic shimmered faintly.

“Light and dark dual-element magic—that’s Shaorong,” Zhuang Hao said with excitement.

“I also sense gold-element magic. That Qi Shaorong even dragged Qi Heng into this,” Yunfei muttered.